Memorial

Was browsing through my Flickr archives this evening, when I came across the Monuments and Memorials set. There was one memorial that I would like to single out for now.



This is one of the worst disasters at sea in peacetime, during the 20th century. It is second only to the Titanic's sinking, of which the 95th anniversary will occur on April 12th. The story can be read on this webpage, from where I copy these lines:

The Norge had left Trondheim on 28th June 2004. Three hundred miles west of Scotland, sleeping passengers were jolted from their slumber by a loud grinding, rasping sound. The Norge's bow had struck the rocks around the sixty-foot Rockall Cliff, tearing a hole in the hull.

A newspaper picture of the cliff Rockall after the S/S Norge disaster in 1904

Clanging bells signaled crewmembers to stop the engines. Pumps were engaged and passengers were instructed to put on life belts. Lifeboats were readied and passengers began to board them. The nose of the ship was pinned directly against the rocks. Captain Gundell ordered the engine room to reverse the engines to pull the ship off. Unfortunately, the damage was sever and as soon as the ship was away water began pouring into the hold. Panic broke out as the catastrophic nature of the situation became evident. The passengers who were piled into the few boats being lowered were the fortunate ones, while the others could see they were about to go down with the rapidly sinking Norge. [...] Less than twenty minutes after striking the rocks, the Norge plunged beneath the waves, taking nearly 700 passengers with her.

As the plaque says, 105 of the 160 survivors came ashore at Stornoway, but 9 died shortly after arrival. They lie buried at Sandwick Cemetery, about a mile outside the town.

Technorati Tags: norge, disaster, sinking, 1904, norway, emigrants, rockall